Digital Kinship: Social Media Use and the Restructuring of Extended Family Ties in Urban India

Abstract

The proliferation of social media platforms has altered the structural and affective dimensions of family life across urban India. This study examines how social media use influences the maintenance and restructuring of extended family ties among urban households in Madhya Pradesh, with particular attention to intergenerational communication, ritual participation, and perceived closeness. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 400 respondents drawn from joint and nuclear urban households using a structured questionnaire. Findings indicate that while daily-use platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook have increased the frequency of contact with extended kin, they have simultaneously altered the quality and depth of familial interaction, producing what this paper terms 'digital kinship' — a mode of family bonding mediated by asynchronous, low-intensity digital exchange rather than sustained face-to-face engagement. Regression analysis reveals that age, household structure, and platform type significantly predict perceived family closeness. The paper argues that digital kinship represents neither a wholesale erosion nor a simple continuation of traditional extended family solidarity, but a hybrid arrangement requiring new sociological frameworks. Implications for family policy and digital literacy interventions are discussed.